Hoisting clothesline pole



Sapt. 15, 1933,, H. J. RUCHIIE I HOISTING CLOTHESLINE POLE Filed Dec. 19, 1928 Patented Sept. 15, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HENRY J'. RITCHIE, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO LEO G. GERLAGZ-I, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA I-IOISTING CLOTHESLINE POLE Application filed December 19, 1928.

My invention relates to hoisting clothes line poles which provide a means of holding the clothes lines in a manner so that they can be hoisted to the desired height very easily and quickly in a simple and effective manner.

It is a feature of my invention to provide standards which may be anchored or embedded in the ground supported in suitable concrete, if desired, or so supported within the ground as to be removable. These standards form the main supports for the clothes line and are formed to slidably receive a member within the same which is adapted to support an angular cross member to which the clothes line is attached. The slidable memher is operable by a simple hand operated cranking means to raise and lower the same so as to raise and lower the cross member which carries the ends of the clothes line between the supporting standards.

My invention includes a clothes line support which is adapted to be adjusted as to height in a simple and effective manner. This provides a means of supporting a clothes line so that the clothes may be easily hung upon the line While the line is in lowered position, and then the line may be readily raised with the clothes on the same to the desired height so that the clothes will not be too close to the ground and may, if desired, be raised high enough to permit walking below the same without touching the clothes. This means of supporting a clothes line obviates the necessity of clothes poles holding the line up away from the ground between its ends.

An important feature of my invention is a means of supporting a clothes line so that it can be lowered close to the ground by the supporting standards and permit the clothes to be attached to the line and then raised to a desired height away from the ground, and when it is desired to remove the clothes, the clot-hes line can be lowered. This means in- 45 cludes a compensating means to which the line is attached so as to hold the line taut between the supporting standards and also permit one end of the line to be lowered at a time, the compensating means preventing i 60 the stretching of the line and thismeans may Serial No. 327,161.

be in the form of coil springs which engage the clothes line.

These features and objects, together with other details of the invention-will be more fully and clearly set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view showing the manner in which my hoisting clothes line poles may be used and operated.

Figure 2 illustrates one ofthe hoisting clothes line poles, a portion of which is broken away, and showing the standard of the pole anchored in the ground.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional detail of a portion of the hoisting clothes line pole.

Figure 4 is a section on the line H of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail of a portion of my clothes line pole.

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail of another form of a portion of my clothes line pole.

In the drawings my hoisting clothes line pole A is provided with a pipe standard 10, one end of which is adapted to be anchored in the ground by the concrete 11 which may be formed about the lower end of the pipe standard 10. This lower end of the standard 10 may be removably supported in the ground although I have not shown the particular manner of doing this in the drawings because it would only be necessary to provide a simple socket of an ordinary nature for receiving the lowerend of the pipe standard 10 so as to hold the same removable, the socket being embedded in the concrete 11.

The pipe standard 10 is formed with a longitudinal slot 12 extending from the top 13 of the standard 10 down to a position virtually midway'of the top and bottom of the standard. The upper end of the standard 10 may be provided with a suitable cap '14 for closing the top of the pipe standard 10, as illustrated more clearly in Figure I provide a slidable tubular member 15 which is adapted to slide in the pipe standard 10 and which is formed with gear teeth 16 adapted to provide a rack of teeth along the member 15 which are engaged by'the gear 17. The gear 17 is supported to the bracket 18 so that the gear will extend through the longitudinal slot 12 and be freeto engage the teeth 16 of the rack formed on the tubular member 15 which is slidably supported within the standard 10.

The bracket 18 is adjustable and is supported by suitable bolts 19 so that it can be clamped in the proper adjusted position about the standard 10. This bracket is adapted to support a pawl 20 which engageswith the teeth 16 to hold the slidable tubular member 15 in adjusted position Within the standard 10. The gear 17 is adapted to be operated by a suitable crank 22 which may be engaged and rotated to operate the gear 17 in a manner to cause the member 15 to be raised or lowered within the stand ard 10.-

Thus when the bracket 18 is clamped rigidly in place about the standard with the gear 17 engaging with the teeth 16, by operating the handle 22 the slidable member may be raised or lowered, it being necessary to release the pawl from the 1 teeth 16 when it is desired to lower the member 15 and the pawl 20 being adapted to be extended into position to engage with the teeth 16 to hold the slidable member 15 in the position desired in the standard 10.

The slidable member 15 provides the means of supporting the angular cross member 2 1. This angular member may be of a right angular nature, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3, and is adapted to be held by the bolts 25 and 26 to the upper end of the slidable member 15. I The shank of the bolts 25 and 26 extends through the slot 12 and thus assist to hold the slidable member 15 against rotation in the standard 10 and also to assist in connecting the member 2 1 firmly against twisting to the member 15. I provide a suitable bracket member 27 which extends on either side of the supporting standard 10 as illustrated in Figure 2, and which is connected centrally by the bolt 28 to the slidable member 15,v a suitable bushing 29 being provided which extends through the slot 12. The outer ends of the bracket 27 are supported by the bolts 30 to the angular cross member 24. This provides a suitable brace to support and hold the cross member 2 1 horizontal in relation to the standard 10 and extending virtually at right angles thereto.

The cross member 24 is adapted to support a series of coil springs 32 to which the clothes line 3-3 is attached so that the clothes line 33 may extend in the virtually parallelly extending strands between the standards 10, as illustrated in Figure 1. Thus the clothes line is suported in a suitable man-ner between the supporting standards 10 so that when it is desired, the clothes line may be raised or lowered and one end can be operated at a time, so that by operating the crank 22 the cross member 24 will be raised and lowered by the sliding of the member 15 within the standard 10 when the gear 17 operates the same. The coil springs 32 take up the slack in the clothes line 33 and keep it tight and also provide means for compensating the necessary stretching of the strands of the line 33 when one cross member 34 is down and the other is up, as illustrated in Figure 1. These springs may be of the desired strength and formation and any other suitable adjusting means may be provided to compensate for the stretching of the strands 33 in the operation of my hoisting clothes line poles.

The teeth 16- may be cut into the slidable member 15-, as illustrated in the detail in Figure 5-, by cutting or milling transverse grooves in the tubular member 15 toformthe teeth- 16. However, the teeth may be formed in any suitable manner in the pipe or tubular member 15, In Figure 61 have illustrated the tubular member 15 with a longi tudinal slot 34 which is adapted to receive the bar 35 and. this bar is formed with the teeth 16 on the outer edge 01 the same which form the rack for engagement with the pinion 17. This bar 35 may be more easily made than the cutting of the teeth 16 in the tubular member 15 and the bar 35 may be anchored by suitable" rivets 0r bolts 36 ex* tending through the member 35 and anchored to the member 15, thus holding the member 35 virtually rigidly tothe member 15.

The advantages of my hoisting clothes line poles will be apparent in the fact that it is always difficult to hang up clothes when the line is too high and unless the line is placed high enou h the clothes will drag upon the ground fiy my hoistable clothesline poles the line can be lowered to suit the height of the person hanging up the clothes and then after the clothes are hung on the strands 33 they can be elevated high enough to prevent the clothes from dragging on the ground and up out of the way, the hoisting operation being very simple and easily controlled.-

In this manner I provide a very desirable supporting means for clothes lines having no complicated parts, easily manufactured and which may be operable by anyone, yet having a utility which isvery desirable. I

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described the principles of my hoisting clothes line poles and while I have illustrated a particular formation and construction of the parts in the drawings, I desire to have it understood that the same are only suggestive of a means of carrying out the principles of my invention and that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit thereof.

I claim:

1. A hoisting clothes line pole including,

a tubular standard, a slidable member entirely enclosed Within said standard having a gear rack formed therein, a bracket adjustably attached to said standard, a longitudinal slot extending in said standard, a pinion supported by said bracket in position to extend through said slot to engage with said rack, means for operating said pinion to raise and lower said slidable member Within said standard, a cross head carried by said slidable member adapted to receive the strands of a clothes line to support the same so that the clothes line may be raised and lowered in relation to said supporting standard and braces for said cross head connected to said slidable member through said slot.

2. A hoisting clothes line pole including, a supporting standard, means slidable within said standard and entirely enclosed therein adapted to support a transversely extending clothes line support, brace means for said support secured to said slidable member and means for operating said means within said standard to raise and lower the same.

3. A clothes line support comprising, a horizontally disposed member, a standard, a slidable member carried by said standard entirely encased therein, means for operating said slidable member within said standard to 39 raise and lower the same, spaced bolts through said horizontally disposed member and said slidable member, and spacing means between said slidable member and horizontally disposed member.

HENRY J. RUCHIE. 

